Her 2 hour 31 minutes and 29 seconds finishing time beat her previous best of 2hr38m54 and also placed her in top spot in the club’s all-time records.

Club chair Karen Martin said: “It’s going to be a really exciting year for the running club, especially for our females as we have some real talent coming through and our men are remaining strong as well.

“We’re going to do our best to gain a podium finish this year, we’re definitely a club to contend with for first place.

“We have some strong runners across all categories and some good talent in the males and females we have running for us. As long as our best runners stay fit and are able to compete I don’t see why we can’t strive to secure the top spot. I’m confident that 2019 is going to be a good year for HRC.

“The results from this weekend place us in a strong position at the start of the GP series and it’s a brilliant start to what I am sure will be a brilliant year. It was an amazing weekend of running at the Tarpley 10 and 20 which are also part of the club’s championship series. Kirsty’s time was astounding.”

Yusuf Firat also recorded a second-place finish in the Tarpley 20, in the MV55 category, as he finished in 66th overall in 2.31.45. Ian Longland led the club home in 55th position overall and 10th in MV45, in 2.26.42.

Andrew Bell also had a good run, in the shorter 10 mile race, as he finished third overall in a time of 59 minutes and 22 seconds and first in the MV40 category while Cheryl Trundle’s one hour, 26 minutes and 32 seconds saw her beat off all other competitors in the FV65+ category.

Mary-Ann Tuli was Haverhill’s first female runner home as she crossed the line in 1.15.53 in second in the FV45 group (63rd overall).

Meanwhile, Karen Martin will this Sunday (10am) represent Suffolk, and the club, in the Inter-Counties 2019 race at the Essex 20 in Rochford.